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“K-Kennedy,” Amelia gasps.
I whip around to find Easton being led out of the house by police, hands behind his back, very much alive.
Nothing in the world can keep me in place as I scramble to my feet and run into him. My body hits his with a thud, and as I hear his heart still beating inside his chest, it’s a relief I've never known. He rests his head on mine and exhales, but when I realize his arms aren't wrapped around me, I pull away.
It's then that I notice the state of him. My brows furrow as I take it all in, but nothing is making sense.
“Why are you handcuffed?” I ask, then notice the deep red liquid that soaks his shirt. “Oh my God, you're bleeding.”
Panic rushes through me as I think he's hurt, lifting his shirt to find the source but all I'm faced with is his perfectly toned abs—completely unharmed. People scream to let them through and I turn around to see Alec being carried out on a stretcher, an EMT performing CPR the whole way. My eyes widen as they meet Easton's, but he shows no emotion as he stares back at me.
“It's not my blood,” he says stoically. An officer starts to pull him away, and Easton looks at Zayn. “Get them home and I'll meet you guys there.”
Z nods and gently wraps an arm around me as I watch them take Easton and put him into the back of a patrol car. My whole body is shaking, still trying to recover from everything that just happened. As Zayn starts leading us away, the same officer from earlier stops us.
“Miss Lehigh,” he says to me. “We're going to need you to give a statement on what happened here.”
“Is that necessary right now?” Zayn questions for me. “She's been through a lot. You can't give her the night and come get one tomorrow?”
He smiles sadly. “I'm afraid not, son. We need to get it while everything is still fresh in her head.”
I nod and wrap my arms around myself. “Okay.”
“Right this way.”
I PACE BACK AND forth across the living room, unable to sit still. There is no calm. No relaxation. No anything when I don't know what's going on with Easton. By the tenth time I look out the window, Tye sighs.
“Kennedy, you need to try to relax,” she tells me. “Stress isn't good for the baby.”
“Not having a father isn't good for the baby!” I snap back.
She presses her lips into a line, realizing that nothing she can say will make this better. There will be no relaxing until Easton is home safely.
“Why was he in handcuffs? Is he going to be charged with murder? Will he be around to help raise our kid or is that all on me now? How the fuck did this all go wrong?”
Tessa gets up and stands in front of me, putting her hands on my arms to keep me still. “I get it, okay? Maybe not firsthand, but I get it. I watched Delaney go through the same thing with Knox, and I won't lie, it was hard. But freaking out about it isn't going to help anything, and the last thing you want is to hurt this baby. Am I right?”
I nod, my whole body still shaking.
“Okay,” she says. “Why don't you go grab one of his sweatshirts? That might help you feel a little better.”
“Yeah,” I breathe. “Yeah, it might.”
I make my way up the stairs and into Easton's room, grabbing the sweatshirt off the back of his chair instead of one from the closet because it's been recently worn. As I'm walking out, however, the light on in the guest room catches my attention. The door is only open a crack, but as I get to it and push it open, my breath hitches.
The room in front of me is a perfectly put together nursery. The walls are painted the light turquoise Easton knows is my favorite color and accented by the wall décor we picked out together. The gray crib sits on one side of the room, perfectly made with teal bedding, while the matching changing table and dresser are on the other side. Everything is exactly how I pictured it, even down to the mobile that spins and plays music as I turn it on.
I could have the baby tomorrow and know that everything is in order.
Everything except whether Easton will be there.
“He really does love you, little man,” I say softly through my tears, my hand cradling my belly.
A rush of emotions flood through me as I lose my emotional balance again. With my eyes closed, I let myself feel every ounce of it. I embrace it, because it means I care. And for the first time since I left that house, I let myself feel fear.
The events of today have left their mark. And maybe that means Alec wins, in a way, because he made me feel something, but I refuse to let him take anything else from me. So, as much as it may scare me to be alone, I stay in this room, and I cry.
When my tears nearly run dry, I feel two arms wrap around me.
“It's going to be okay,” Amelia whispers. “It has to be.”
And God, I hope she's right.
